The creature's form exploded in a bluish-white mist and flew towards Cecil's mouth. Then, as she swallowed it whole, her cracked frame shuddered and began to expand within a pillar of light.
When the radiant shaft receded, Damon realized Cecil had completely changed. Her spiritual body now stood confidently at 167 centimeters, neither child nor gloomy distortion, and was dressed in the familiar attire seen in her memory.
Her soul had truly become whole once more.
Crack!.. Crack!…
One after another, the fissures in the scenery widened, and Damon felt himself turning heavy rapidly. At that moment, Cecil snapped her fingers, and his body jolted.
"Wait!" Damon shouted instinctively, voice weaving through the collapse. "Was the creature lying? Is the Conjuror really dead..?"
Vincent bent his legs, ready to shoot toward Cecil as his boots struck a hardwood floor. However, he quickly felt a firm grip take hold of his arm.
"Ugh!?.. What are you doing, priest--"
"There is no need for that." Kruger did not speak further to elaborate, but as he let go of Vincent, the siblings came to understand what he meant.
A void of darkness quickly took shape around them in a fleeting second. Their eyes met the short hallway of the Watson residence, and the lonely sounds of the quiet neighbourhood returned as if nothing had transpired moments ago.
"Heh, you boys don't have to worry so much," Cecil smiled softly, covering her mouth with her palm. "I'm not planning to quietly vanish, who knows where I would end up if I did!"
"You're using that Lithos crystal to slow the energy loss?" Damon asked. Though it did not appear obvious on the surface, he could almost smell an aroma of wet dirt from the center of her spiritual body.
"The other me mentioned the apricity I received wouldn't last without it," Cecil nodded with downcast eyes. "And even now, it's already a miracle that you could help me. During my time with Josephine, I've heard gossip of extraordinary individuals and strange gatherings beyond the church's authority, but never dreamt of being pulled into such occurrences myself. Of course, I am glad to have met you all!"
Without waiting for them to reply, she seemed to ramble on with frantic hand gestures, displaying her inner turmoil."Anyways I managed to break her strange world to return us here. But until my body is brought up from Lake Merewif..I'm not sure I can pass on yet."
"That won't be necessary," Kruger blinked his silver eyes and added, " Your body and soul should have already been separated for some time, as such proximity to the flesh is no longer needed. We shall find your body another time, but before we need confirmation regarding the conjurer."
"After the encounter with Damon and Henry, she found him in the house across the street. It seemed he wasn't expecting her to appear, but they got into a scuffle, and she tore something called a core node from his body along with his heart. Immediately after shes spared no effort drain the energy needed from it, apparently that's how she gained that extra power."
"Wait..If he was that strong, why didn't he just attack us directly?" Henry muttered.
Cecil leaned slightly with her arms folded, deep in thought, and said, " She didn't understand why, but he simply instructed her to kill whomever she desired."
'That doesn't explain much ..But if the creature had been siphoning directly from another person's core, we should have sensed where the energy was coming from.'Damon silently pondered.
One of the things he failed to comprehend was why the conjurer, who initially seemed careful, would not implement reliable safeguards against the very creature of malice he had created. Did he not consider the thought that she could overpower him, or was this so personal to him that he had simply thrown caution to the wind?
""Where did they hide the core?""
Sharing this thought, Vincent and the priest posed the question simultaneously, their voices overlapping awkwardly. They then looked at each other with blank expressions for a few seconds as Cecil burst out in laughter.
"Ahem, forgive my manners, my dear priest," Vincent smiled as he tilted his head slightly. "I forgot that elders should get seniority."
Once they heard that Damon and Henry stared suspiciously at Kruger. While neither chose to comment, their mouths hung open for half a second before their attention shifted to Vincent's smirk.
"I heard Diana mention devout believers of Destined Death age more slowly once they reach late adolescence. Mr. Kruger here is likely an old geezer, despite his appearance."
Kruger let out a sigh, a blend of exasperation and subtle amusement.
"Do not confuse me with my peers. Though we do age more gradually, I am still very much within the prime of my youth." He then looked ahead and addressed Cecil softly. "Now, my little Líng Lóng ["delicate and exquisite heart"], could you reveal to us where the core was hidden?"
"Their core should be in the attic," Cecil answered honestly.
Kruger nodded in gratitude before reaching into his wet coat. He swerved his body around to face three siblings and withdrew three familiar golden badges, their surfaces completely intact.
"I was able to secure these during our confrontation." He said, throwing them over.
"Did you happen to find a pair of daggers, too ?" queried Henry as he thought about it. As they received the badges and thanked the priest, his countenance brightened with expectation.
Kruger shook his head and said," I'm afraid I did not..."
He then applied pressure to the back of his clawed hand, forcing the devil's face to cry and said in a commanding tone, "I shall handle the rest from here. One of you should retrieve the core before we address the supposed conjurer's corpse ."
"I'll go," Vincent said evenly."There isn't much left for me to do either way." The blond specter simply sought to evade Damon's concerned gaze as those blue eyes remained fixed on his severed shoulder. Seemingly waiting for his facade of strength to falter once more.
"That idiot," Damon muttered.
Following Vincent as he turned toward the attic stairs, Damon deliberately shifted his gaze away from the space where Vincent's arm had been. He then looked towards Kruger, who was about to begin his spell incantation, and asked, "Mister Kruger, about how long will the Spiritual energy sealing Vincent's wound last for."
"Approximately three minutes before it begins dissolving," Kruger replied without turning. "It is rather regrettable that I could not salvage the arm before Death decay set in. Once the Death affinity begins to devour the flesh of the living, nothing can be done due to the scars left on the victim's soul."
At the mention of Vincent's arm, Cecil's expression crumpled with fresh guilt. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "For all the trouble I've caused—"
"It wasn't your fault," Henry insisted, quickly walking closer. He forced a smile and added, "Our brother Vincent's really strong. Losing an arm won't hamper him at all."
Immediately, Damon and Cecil exchanged a look of doubt.
Only an idiot would believe that, they both thought, yet for drastically different reasons.
Cecil reached out and ruffled Henry's hair fondly, her jade eyes. "You'll really have to be careful," she said softly. "With how kind you are to every girl you meet, you might end up meeting someone like Josephine."
"You've mentioned her twice now," Henry asked, curiosity written on his face. "Whose Josephine…?"
Startled, Cecil hesitated to respond. Her lips slowly parted as she started to speak with a subtle tremble."She is-"
"She's a deranged bitch" Damon declared, quickly interrupting Cecil. Seeing their surprised expressions, he crossed his arms and scoffed with a deepened frown," What? Am I wrong..?"
"That might be too much, brother." Henry smiled nervously. He then brushed his hand against his black hair as water dripped down to his lashes.
"If you had seen what I saw, you would think differently," Damon argued, rolling his eyes.
"He's right," Cecil admitted. "I'm just surprised he could say something so crass." She laughed again, then turned to Kruger, her expression softening. "I'm ready to go now. Before I accidentally fade away from laughter."
The moment the words left her lips, her spiritual form flickered like a light momentarily cut from its power source, dimming then flaring back to existence.
Damon felt it immediately.
The life affinity he had poured into her was reaching its limit.
"Begin," he said firmly, looking toward Kruger.